Thursday, June 30, 2011

Health Update On Caleb J. . . .

So.  I haven't done a real medical update on Cabers in awhile.  And since he's had some significant appointments lately, I thought I'd document it in my journal. 

Caleb had his six month well-check appointment a little over a month ago, and everything looked great.  Growing and gaining weight is not a problem for him . . . that's an understatement!  He's in the 80-90 % for height and weight.  His head is pretty big - off the charts - which we could tell just by looking at him.  His pediatrician wants to keep an eye on it though, as it could signify brain swelling or other serious things.  We're thinking it's just hereditary since Ethan had the same situation as a baby (extra appointments for head measurements), and Anna and Benjamin also had exceptionally large heads.  hehe.  What can we say . . . that's just how we make 'em.  Super chubby.  Super big heads.  :)  With the other two, it all evened out in a couple years, and hopefully that's the case with Cabsie Pie too.  He's having an appointment later today to get his head measured, so we'll see how he looks.  Last thing about this appointment - Caleb's Pediatrician also requested a little follow up with a pediatric cardiologist, to address some concerns they had when he was in the NICU.  Everything looked totally fine with his heart.  Yay!   

On to Caleb's six month Developmental Clinic at the beginning of June.  Babies that spend considerable time in the NICU, or have certain health issues, often have a developmental clinic scheduled for six months to see how they're doing.  It's a 2-3 hour long appointment at the hospital, and you meet with multiple heath care workers - pediatric nurse, physical therapist, speech pathologist, Pediatrician Specialist.  I was so happy it was scheduled during Ethan's week off so we could both be there for it.  Caleb was right on with all the developmental checks.  Babies who are born prematurely are assessed based on their due date rather than their actual birth date.  Since Caleb was one month early, for his six month developmental clinic he was actually assessed as a five month old.  There are a few things the physical therapist wants us to help him along with, but really nothing major, or any "delays."  With the doctor, we spent the majority of the time discussing Caleb's large head. . . he even measured Ethan and my head to make sure it does run in the family.  Geesh.  :)

Okay, final major appointment - Pediatric Pulmonary Specialists in Ann Arbor.  We actually just got back from that appointment yesterday.  His lungs sounded good, and they thought he looked great.  They changed Caleb's medication to a longer lasting dose, and for long term use.  Also, instead of taking the medicine through a nebulizer, Caleb will be using an inhaler.  It's still twice a day, but instead of 10 minutes of breathing treatments, it will only take 1 minute of inhaler.  Yay!  They consistently refer to his symptoms (occasional wheezing and retraction breathing) as asthmatic symptoms (moderate to mild), and are treating it as that.  This is still something they expect he will grow out of in childhood, so not really anything has changed.  .  .  which is a good thing. So, although they wanted to change his medication for more long term use, they still thought he was doing well, and were especially pleased to hear that he only got sick once this season.  Apparently it was an especially bad RSV season that lasted longer than normal.  Way to go Caleb!  :)

As a side note, some things I was reminded of on our trip down state: 
1)  I really like my parents.  Of course I love them and appreciate them, but I also really like them.  So it was nice to spend this time with them - even though I live with them...life is just busy - and have a long car ride to talk and hang out.  (I went down with my mom and dad because my dad had a work thing in Lansing at the same time.  Worked out perfectly.)   
2)  Caleb is such a good baby.  He's so happy and easy going and smiley! He was a good little traveler, and only had one short episode of crying in the car. . . which is pretty dang good considering we went down and back in a day and a half!  It seemed like Caleb could tell this was a special trip, and a rare ratio - three adults to one baby Caleb. And no noisy older siblings.  He was so cute!  :)   
3)  I can NOT share a hotel room with my parents ever again.  :)  A light sleeper + a loud sporadic snorer  + an all night cougher  = only about three hours of sleep for me.  Glad Caleb slept through it all like a champ.  Man, I got so desperately tired (especially since I'd gotten less than 6 hours of sleep the night before AND I can't sleep in a car) that I considered going down to the front desk at 2 in the morning and getting my own room.  Anyway, just a note to myself since it had apparently been awhile, but just so I don't make this mistake again - DO NOT SLEEP IN THE SAME ROOM AS THE PARENTS!  hehe. 

Okay, just to make this long post a little longer;  here are a few general updates about my seven month old baby Caleb:  *He is rolling around, almost sitting up...he still needs a little help :), and when he's on his tummy, he scoots and rolls and moves all over.  (All of our kids were a little slower in the physical development stuff . . . could it be due to their large noggins and extreme chub? hehe. They were never "delayed" in the developmental milestones, but they were certainly not ahead of the pack.  And the same is true with Cabers.)  *Especially since Caleb is our last . . . we're in no rush for him to grow up and do all the physical stuff . . . 'cause he'll get there. Ethan and I actually really like this about our kiddies because they're more easily contained the less mobile they are, AND it makes them seem like babies longer.  :)  *Caleb is such an interactive little guy.  He loves smiling at people and interacting with them.  When doctors and nurses have tried to distract Caleb with a toy, he will  often keep looking right at them instead.  He loves attention from his big brother and sister, and smiles and laughs at them all the time.  *Caleb is such a good little sleeper.  He takes two to three naps a day, and goes to sleep for the night around 7:30 or 8pm.  He doesn't wake up until around 8-8:30am.  He still gets up around 6am to drink a quick bottle, but then goes right back to sleep.  *We finally started Caleb on baby cereal and baby food, over a month ago.  No surprise, but he likes it.  A lot.  We aren't very regular about it, so he is still getting most of his nutrients from his bottles, but again, we're in no rush with the feeding thing either, and did the same with Anna and Benjamin.  *I love Caleb's big smile, chubby dimpled cheeks, and bright blue eyes.  They light up a room and attract tons of admirers to him.  *Cabers is a pretty quiet baby - rarely cries, and is easily soothed if something is wrong.  He only occasionally does the baby squealing thing, even his laugh is pretty quiet and sweet. . . a deep chuckle.  Mostly he likes to sit and observe and take in the world around him. One noise Caleb does seem to make more and more is the "raspberry" sound with his lips.  Pretty cute.  *He loves songs, especially ones with hand motions, and he loves to play peek-a-boo.  He loves putting everything in his mouth and one of his favorite "toys" right now is my cell phone.  Typical.  *Alright, I think these are enough updates for now, hehe.  We just love our little babers.  We feel so blessed that Caleb was sent to our family.  He's such a sweetie, snuggly, little man.  We are loving watching him grow and develop and get stronger and healthier every day.  

Have a fun Fourth everyone!            

2 comments:

The McCulloughs said...

I totally learned my lesson last summer when it comes to sharing a hotel room with the parentals. NEVER AGAIN!!! I'm glad I'm not the only one, hahaha! :)

Caleb is sooo cute!!!

Ange said...

Hehe. Seriously! Except I may end up doing it this weekend too . . . but I'll be way more prepared.

And yeah, Caleb is pretty adorable, if I do say so myself. :)